General Review Details:

• Reviewed Restaurant: Leonardo
• Review Date: Saturday 21st February 2009
• Current Weather: Sunny Pleasant Afternoon (12 Degrees)

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Piccante Restaurants Web Awards:

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The Piccante Ratings:

Restaurant Ratings:

Restaurant Ambience: 8/10

Restaurant Hygiene & Layout: 9/10

Restrooms Hygiene & Layout: 8/10

Overall Service: 9/10

Value For Money: 7/10

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Food Ratings:

Timing & Followup: 9/10

Presentation: 9/10

Food Taste: 10/10

Menu Variety: 9/10

Wine List Variety: 9/10

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Overall Piccante Rating

9/10

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In-Depth Review:

Getting There:

Leonardo is located nicely on the Shore of Marsaxl0kk, next door to the Police Station. Finding this restaurants is very easy and if you have never been to Marsaxlokk simple drive / walk along the shore and you simply just cannot miss it (Southport Villa).  Surrounded by the smell and views of the sea, fishing boats (since Marsaxlokk is a traditional Fish Village) and facing directly a pleasant country side view,  Leonardo’s Location is a very enjoyable one. Parking is not a problem at all if you do not mind a 5 minutes walk, however please not that on Sundays there is a very popular street market on the shore and you can except some parking problems and some crowds.

Also note that Leonardo is part of a group of outlets, consisting of a Restaurant, Coffee Shop and Wine Bar, which are all located inside Southport Villa, so you will not see the restaurant (Leonardo) directly on the shore. You will have to enter into Southport Villa and take the first stairways that you encounter (which you will surely note because of Leonardo’s Logo as well as the  massive replica of Leonardo’s study and sketch of The Vitruvian Man).

(The Shore Surrounding Leonardo)
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(Front View Of Southport Villa)

(The Staircase Leading Up To Leonardo)

.(Entrance To Leonardo)
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The Restaurant:

Although this restaurant is modern, the interior is very classic. In the restaurant, a large wall painting, reproduction of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is very noticeable.  Other decorations such as paintings, glass decanters and other ornaments are seen all around the restaurant. Soft background music is available, which adds up to a relaxing atmosphere.

A beautiful terrace is also available. Through the winter, the terrace is closed with transparent plastic and therefore is still available without obstructing the country side and sea shore view of Marsaxlokk.

The tables are very well set. Everyone would have enough leg room and some privacy. The tables are covered with dark brown linen and the chairs are covered with leather. The temperature in the restaurant is very well regulated with heating.

WiFi Connection: Leonardo is equipped with a free Wi-Fi connection. However we did get a chance to test it out with our Wi-Fi Enabled Mobile Device, due to some temporary technical problems that Leonardo was facing with their connection.

(Tables Located On The Closed Terrace For Winter)
.(An Excellent Table On The Terrace)
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(Replica Of Leonardo’s The Last Supper – 1498)
.(Inside The Restaurant)
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The Service:

When we stepped inside the restaurant, we were welcomed by a Patrick, who after greeting us and had a little chat, showed us to our table. Then, a waiter gave us the menus and explained some things such as what was the fresh fish of the day.

The drinks were first ordered and served immediately. Before the starter, some fresh warm bread with tasty Balsamic And Lemon butter was served. Then the starters were served. The empty plates were removed immediately and before the main course some more warm bread was served once again. Waiting time is neither too long nor short. After that we finished the main course, a dessert menu was given to us from where we could choose our dessert. The waiter suggested us to have the mix of homemade desserts. Overall the service was quite good, the staff is very friendly and professional and always ready to help you when needed.

(Our Selected Table)
.(The View Available From Our Table)
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The Food:

Menu: The Menu at Leonardo is a very presentable one! We were first struck by it’s design and the fact that it was encased inside a hard wooden like material which complemented the look of the tables and the interior design itself. Proceeding with opening up the menu, you will then note that the majority of dishes listed consist mainly of Seafood. To us it was no surprise since the restaurant was located in Marsaxlokk. The available starters are made up of 8 different dishes, 4 of which include seafood as their main ingredients and 2 of the others are marked as suitable for Vegetarians.  There is also the option to convert a Starter Dish into a Main Course one, at an additional cost of 5 Euros.  Moving on to the Main Course, one can find another selection 8 of meat dishes which are quite well varied. 3 of these dishes consist of Fresh Fish and Seafood ingredients while the rest of 5 Dishes consist of Red Meat, Game and Poultry.

There are also some interesting dishes on Leonardo’s Menu such as the Pheasant and the Squid Ink Tortellini. As for the Duo Of Fresh Fish, the selection of desired fish is left at your choice, of course limited to the available options of Fresh Fish available on that day.

As one can note, none of these Main Course dishes are suitable for Vegetarians since they all consist of meat, however do keep in mind that the starters marked as vegetarian can be converted into a main Course dish if requested. There is also the option to order an extra Side Salad with your Main Course dish at an extra charge of 2.80 Euros.

We were also informed that Menu items change according to the seasons and special occasions, and the one we were currently ordering from was the Winter Menu.  We did manage to get a chance to take a peak at Valentines Day Menu as well. The dishes available were also well varied and quite different from the Winter Menu ones (for example there where quite a good number of pasta dishes available, something which is not available on the Winter Menu).

Wine List: The wine list of this restaurant begins with the history of Maltese Wine. This can be very interesting especially to the many tourists that visit Marsaxlokk. A very well varied wine list is available at this restaurant. Wines on the wine list come from all over the world including: Maltese, French, Italian, Spanish, Australian, South African, North American, Chilean, Argentinean, New Zealand’s, Lebanese and German. Obviously, the wines available come from different types such as Red, White, Rose, Dessert Wine, Sparkling and Champagne. If one is searching for a typical region, he could find it in this wine list, because, wines from the major regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piemonte and many others are all present in this list. All wines available on the list have a brief description to help you choose the right wine for your food. The prices are very reasonable, obviously varying with the quality of the wine you choose. Our choice was a Gavi Michele Chiarlo, Year 2007.

Our Selection: At Leonardo our meals began with some excellent Starters consisting of Lobster Bisque With Spiced Lentils And Spring Onion Salsa and another very interesting selection for David, the Squid Ink Tortellini Filled With King Prawn Mousse Served With Sea Urchin. As a starter, the Lobster Bisque was perfect. One could taste very well the richness of the Lobster. Moreover, legumes were put in this bisque, giving it some more weight and richness. Overall, this bisque was very good and is recommended especially for soup lovers.  On the other side of the table, David was enjoying his highly anticipated yet not expected dish. This strange yet interesting dish left quite an impression on David, considering also that he is as a tortellini lover. From the name itself the dish was not a common one however when you get presented with Black Tortellini the dish gets even more interesting and a rare find. The homemade black tortellini colored with ink coming from a Squid (or at least that is what the name suggests), had an excellent filling of tender and mouthwatering king prawn mousse, which brings about a new concept of Seafood Tortellini. Even more the dish is further enriched by an  excellent light sauce, which is filled with tiny pieces of Sea Urchin, that are simply wonderful to taste. Summing it in a few words, this was a perfectly unique and excellent dish!

Moving on to the Main Course our selection now included Duo Of Fresh Fish With Langoustine And Baby Scallops and Grilled Fillet Of Beef With Stir Fried Pak Choi And Red Wine Jus. The Duo of Fresh Fish was just delicious. As fresh fish, Tuna and Dentex were available. Both fish were very tender and very well cooked. Along with the fish, langoustine and a baby scallop were served. The langoustine and scallop gave more richness to this dish. The Grilled Fillet Of Beef was also good in taste, preparation and requested degree of cooking (Ordered Medium Rare: Click Here To See Possible Degrees Of Cooking Of Beef Fillet). This was an interesting selection from the menu considering the included ingredients in the dish, making it a Fusion one.  The sauce accompanying the Fillet consisted of some excellent Stir Fried Pak Choi, also know as a Chinese Cabbage. This makes up quite a good taste and a somewhat new experience with a Fillet Of Beef.

Both dishes where served by some roast potatoes and vegetables which were not overcooked, leaving some crispness and conserving the original taste. Also, some fresh rucola leaves were served.

To end up our meal, the very polite waiter prepared us a selection of Assorted Desserts which consisted of all the Desserts available on the menu, however in smaller portions. The presentation was fantastic and they where served on a mirrored dish which enhanced the presentation even more. Each Dessert was quite well varied ranging from ingredients such as Toffee, Caramel, Dates, Chocolate, Almond, Ice Cream and the taste of each was simply fantastic. The desserts where also accompanied by a Cappuccino & Leonardo House Coffee.

Our Food Experience: Overall the Food served at Leonardo is very fine and excellent in every aspect. The presentation was wonderful and it is even complimented by the plates themselves while the taste is excellent and the use of fine ingredients make some of the recipes unique in every way. Leonardo’s Food Experience is definitly a memorable one with a great cuisine of Seafood Ingredients combined with fine dining elements.

(Squid Ink Tortellini)
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(Squid Ink Tortellini)
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(Lobster Bisque)
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(Lobster Bisque)
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(Grilled Fillet Of Beef With Stir Fried Pak Choi)
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(Grilled Fillet Of Beef With Stir Fried Pak Choi)
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(Duo Of Fresh Fish With Langoustine And Scallops)
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(Duo Of Fresh Fish With Langoustine And Scallops)
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(Assorted Desserts)
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(Small Portions Of Each Dessert Available)
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The Bill:

Total: 80.70 Euros (Two Persons)

The average price range for dishes available at Leonardo is at around 16~18 Euros. The restaurant prices fall into a High Low category, however one has to consider that Leonardo is a Fine Dining restaurant and when taking the prices in relation with the food quality, taste, presentation and overall service, the price is well justified.

Our Overall Opinion:

Our visit at Leonardo was an excellent one and we surely look forward to our next visit. Although one does not expect to find a fine dining restaurant at Marsaxlokk, this restaurant really meets up to one’s exceptions. The interior design is very pleasant one and it contains some interesting features that make up the restaurant’s name. The served food was of excellent taste and the use of fine seafood ingredients in most dishes compliments the restaurant’s location itself (having a majority of Seafood dishes is something which is quite expected at Marsaxlokk).

Containing all these features and combining them with the fact that Leonardo also offers Corporate Lunches and a Wi-Fi Connection, this restaurant is also perfectly suited for Businesses who are after professional Business Lunches with an excellent fine dining service.

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